"You can trust me," her rescuer said kindly. "I can't take you to your friends, but I will take you to a place where they can find you. Now you must promise me that you will never say that you have ever seen me or the old woman, and that you will never mention the old coal mine."
Eleanor promised and the fugitive seemed impressed with her sincerity.
The man carried her about a quarter of a mile into the woods. Then he laid her down in the grass and hurried away. Eleanor watched him with grateful eyes. She did not wonder why the man and the old woman had come to the mysterious hole in the earth, nor why they wished her to keep their hiding place a secret; she was not troubled about it. She was still in great pain, but her fever had gone and she was no longer delirious. She remembered the events of the day before up to the time when she started to wander in the woods. Now Eleanor waited, content and full of faith. The day had come, with its wonderful promise. She knew that she would soon be found. She would bear the pain as well as she could until then.
"Nellie! Nellie!" It was Madge's voice calling to her from afar off. The tones sounded queer and strained, but Eleanor felt sure they were those of her cousin. She could not be mistaken, as she had been last night. She must have been dreaming when some one seemed to summon her from the mouth of the cave. Eleanor did not realize that she had but caught an echo of some one crying to her through the heart of the forest.
Eleanor was weak and faint, but she summoned her strength. "Madge! here I am!" she cried. Her voice was too feeble to carry far.
Neither Madge nor any of her companions caught the answering sound. David Brewster, Jack Bolling, Phil and Lillian were with her. Harry Sears had given out at daylight and had gone back to the Preston farm.
Again they were wandering away from the spot where Nellie waited so patiently.
"Nellie! Nellie!" Madge called once more, her voice breaking.
Poor Eleanor realized that Madge's voice was farther off than it had been when she first called.
Eleanor made an heroic effort. She raised herself to a sitting position. "Madge! Phil! Oh, come to me!" she cried. Then Eleanor fainted.